The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain

We despise all reverences and all the objects of reverence which are outside the pale of our own list of sacred things. And yet, with strange inconsistency, we are shocked when other people despise and defile the things which are holy to us. - Following the Equator

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Sunday, December 12, 2004

Finals Start Tomorrow

Sorry for not having the clever title this time around. I know that the regular viewers get a kick out of it (okay, maybe not. But I think I'm clever anyway.)

Tomorrow starts out the three day endurance test called Finals Week. For those who don't know anything about me (which is pretty much everyone), I'm a Computer Science major at a state university. I've been going to college off and on for the past 15 years and never really found a direction. While I'm about ten credits shy of graduation, all except twenty or so have nothing to do with a major. The twenty are spread out among four different majors. As a result, I've got another three years of part timing to finish.

Last fall I decided that I had had enough of the bullshit. I was tired of being the smartest guy in the room and still not getting any respect or even the opportunity to get a leg up just because I didn't have a degree. Sure I could run the computers and all that better then even the IT people (not saying much, trust me), but because I didn't have a degree of some sort I couldn't even get called in to interview for any number of tech jobs that I was perfectly capable of performing or at least learning quickly. Up until now I had been trying unsuccessfully to work school in around work, but now I'm just gonna say fudge it and switch those priorities. Luckily, my girlfriend agrees and she's helping out where she can. Even so, I can't stop working. Now I find myself in a position where I'm doing two things part time.

Anyway, to any looky-loo's that come across these words and are still in school, trust me on this. STAY IN SCHOOL! Not only as a practical matter, as college graduates make far more than high school graduates. But when you find yourself spinning your wheels at the age of 30 (and believe me, you will.) it's going to be very difficult to do both, as life has a tendency to load you down with responsibilities and obligations. Sure, the actual education that's attached is not as valuable (most employers will train you how to do what they expect of you.) but that piece of paper is a key that will open up a whole lot more doors than you can manage to bust open on your own.

Of course there are exceptions out there. People get lucky or are just born with that "it" factor that means they can't help but succeed. But the rest of us have to take every advantage we can get.